Holding their breath

After a sluggish start to the year, developers in Hungary were hoping to see a major upswing in the closing months, but in fact ended up as anxious spectators of the global financial crisis. For the time being, investors have no choice but to wait and hopeGergo Racz  In response to the pressures of the global financial forces, Hungary’s Finance Ministry has announced that it is revising its cornerstone figures for the 2009 national budget. The credit crunch and its implications for Hungary will most likely result in a raising of the 4.3 pct inflation bar while the Finance Ministry has already slashed its 3 pct economic growth forecast to 1.2 pct. However, the ministry has said it is committed to achieving its 3.2 pct of GDP deficit goal as a key pre-condition for meeting the Maastricht criteria for adopting the common European currency. Hungary’s latest inflation figure in September was 5.7 pct, with a&